Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus flagship handsets at their media event on Wednesday. The new handsets offer an new advanced camera system, (featuring dual-lenses on the iPhone 7 Plus), an improved display, improved water and dust resistance, and stereo speakers. The new handsets will be available in more than 25 countries beginning Friday, September 16.
New Camera System
Perhaps the most notable new feature on the updated handsets is the new camera system. Both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus feature an improved 12-megapixel camera, offering optical image stabilization on both models. A larger ƒ/1.8 aperture and 6-element lens offer users the ability to take brighter, more detailed photos and videos. The new shooter’s wide color capture offers the ability to capture more vibrant colors with more detail. The iPhone 7 Plus offers dual 12-megapixel cameras, the first offering the same wide angle camera as the 7, and a second 12-megapixel telephoto camera that together offer 2x optical zoom, and up to 10x digital zoom for photos.
The iPhone 7 Plus will receive a software update later this year that will enable a cool new depth-of-field effect, which uses both cameras on the Plus to capture images, which a sophisticated technology then uses to separate the background from the foreground to achieve amazing portraits once possible only with DSLR cameras.
Other New Camera-related Features Include:
- New Apple-designed Image Signal Processor, which processes over 100 billion operations on a single photo in as little as 25 milliseconds, resulting in incredible photos and videos
- New 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera with wide color capture, advanced pixel technology and auto image stabilization for even better selfies
- New Quad-LED True Tone flash that is 50 percent brighter than iPhone 6s including an innovative sensor that detects the flickering in lights and compensates for it in videos and photos
Audio
The new handsets both offer stereo speakers, one on the top, and one on the bottom, to offer immersive stereo sound when viewing the screen in landscape. The speakers offer sound two times louder than the iPhone 6s, allowing increased dynamic range of sound and a higher quality speakerphone.
EarPods with a Lightning connector will be included in each box, as well as a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter to allow for use with older headphones and other accessories.
AirPods
Apple will also offer optional wireless headphones called AirPods, which are completely separate from each other, and offer up to 5 hours of listening on a charge. The AirPods will allow users to access Siri with a simple double-tap of an AirPod. More about that in a separate article.
Display
The new iPhone 7 offers a new, brighter, more colorful Retina HD display, now featuring a wide color gamut for cinema-standard colors, greater color saturation and “the best color management in the smartphone industry.”
Home Button
The Home Button is no longer a physical switch, but instead uses a pressure sensing design working in tandem with a new Taptic Engine to provide tactile feedback.
Improved Performance & Battery Life
The new A10 Fusion chip is the most powerful chip ever powering a smartphone. It boasts four cores, which includes two high-performance cores that run up to two times faster than iPhone 6, and two high-efficiency cores that are capable of running at just one-fifth the power of the high-performance cores, offering better performance, but improved battery life.
Graphics performance is also more powerful, running up to three times faster than iPhone 6 at as little as half the power.
Design Improves Water and Dust Resistance
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in the usual silver, gold, and rose gold finishes and two all-new black finishes, a beautiful black finish that has a matte appearance, and an jet black finish that offers a deep, high-gloss look.
An entirely re-engineered enclosure allows the iPhone 7/7 Plus to offer better protection than ever against spills, splashes, and dirt. You probably still want to avoid dropping it into the pool or the toilet though.
Pricing & Availability
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models starting at $649 (US), and the new jet black finish will be offered exclusively on the 128GB and 256GB models from Apple.com, Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers.
The new handsets will be available via the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program, with monthly payments starting at $32. The devices are unlocked, and include AppleCare+. In addition to the U.S., the program will be available for the first time in the UK and China.
Customers will be able to order iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus beginning Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16, in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia beginning Friday, September 23. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will also be available to customers in India beginning Friday, October 7.
